Saturday, 23 March 2013

The Hunt for Mini Notebooks

I had a plan. Not a dream, a plan to put into action for my new Pennybridge (she's a GORGEOUS little bundle of purple-y joy!). However after putting that plan into action today... it failed.

I thought... why go out and buy something when I can make my own little notebooks? Why spend more money on something when I can be creative and make do with the materials I have? So I twoddled off to the office to create... a mess. And then I gave up. I was trying to make little notebooks so I can keep my financial spending record, general notes and a little journal in the pockets of my Pennybridge but alas, my stapler is crap, my paper measuring is atrocious, and my patience is lacking.

So... I'm going to share with you, while I'm on the hunt for mini notebooks, what I find, to help any of you who may be considering making your own and make a right botch job of it like I did! Seriously it's that bad that I'm not even going to post pictures. Ok, maybe just a few.

Here she is, in all her purple-y glory. The non-leather is just beautiful. She's lovely to hold, really well made, no issue with rings, doesn't lay flat but that doesn't really bother me. Also a picture of the inside, you can see all the pockets on the left (that part opens out like a wallet and there's a little zip compartment in there.) Even the pen loop is purple!

And here is my attempt at a mini notebook. Measurements = not.even.close.

I did get one achievement out of it though, a pretty cover page =)

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For any of you who didn't see my mood board (oooh get you) on the Philofaxy Facebook page, here it is again. This is the look I'm going for, kind of gothic, victorian-esque, black, purple and teal. So much prettiness!

I decided to do a mood board because, after my epic fail, I felt a bit "where do I go from here?" It's a really good visual way to explain to yourself what you're doing =)

Anyway... on with the search! So what exactly am I looking for? Probably a set of 3 plain notebooks which I can decorate, which aren't too expensive so I can replace them when they are full up... and they have to be maximum size 12cm x 8cm (the same size as pocket paper). Also has to be from a UK website.

First stop... MOLESKINE. Fairly hopeful seeing as I'd seen these on the Paperchase website. Pocket size, too big. Volant books however, only 6.5cm x 10cm, perfect size, not too thick, range of colours, and £5.50 for 2 notebooks. £4.50 delivery. WHAT?! Are you kidding me? That's a joke. Fair enough if I was ordering a large item, or several things then I might have considered it but that's almost as much as the item itself, which would fit in a jiffy bag.

Stop 2... PAPERCHASE. All spiral-bound, which I would worry about it indenting the cover or my front page. I did find this little guy on the left, 11.6cm x 8.9cm. Unfortunately the extra 9mm on the width might get in the way of the rings when put into one of the pockets on the left inside cover. Also saw this Kraft A7 notebook, at 10cm x 7.5cm. Good size, but £2.50 each so if I wanted 3 that'd be £7.50. Definitely an option, but I'm going to carry on looking.

Stop 3... PRETTYDANDY.CO.UK. Never been on this site before, but these caught my eye... Hideous covers in my opinion but that can easily be solved. Only £4.95 for a set of 4, but no size given on the website!

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Stop 4... TEMPTATIONGIFTS.CO.UK. Again, never been on this site, but found this (wasn't even what I was looking for). Size... 24cm x 17cm. WAY too big. I really want this. Can someone shrink it for me?

So now I'm getting really fed up. Too big, too expensive... now you can see why I tried to make my own. Sod it, I'm going to eat my pizza.﻿

Hi, I love your mood/inspiration boards, but I was wondering and hoping that you'd be able to tell us where/what the pictures are. I've seen so many things that I'd love to purchase, but I have no idea how to find them.

I just love your mood/inspiration boards and I was hoping that you'd be able to provide us with links or at least the names of the things that you showcase. There are so many things that I'd love to purchase or at least look into. I hope that you'll be able to help with that.